B Loves Summer and a Little Bedtime Crazy-ness.

(My little fishy.)

Blake LOVES the water. Believe me, saying LOVE is an understatement. That kid might just be part fish... This might just explain why he was born a week late, he was too comfortable in all that water! He has always loved bathtime, ever since his first baths. He splashes and laughs and could play in the water forever. Cold water doesn't phase him... Just as long as he is in water!


(Summertime is SO much fun...)

This past weekend we went over to one of our friend's house who happens to have a swimming pool with a great kiddie wading area in it. Blake was in there forever! He easily out 'swam' the other kids who didn't spend too much time in there. And boy did he splash, he just loves to splash even if it gets him in the face. He just shakes it off and keeps on splashing.

(Not so excited to be out of the pool.)

Yesterday, we filled up a little kiddie pool in the courtyard and let him just hang out in there. He spent an hour in the water. Splashing and crawling around and playing. He had so much fun!!! Looks like next summer we will be doing swim lessons!

(Blake's Crazy Face!)

Then at bedtime, Blake was just being plain silly... He was having so much fun I wasn't sure we were going to be able to put him to bed! But, being the good little boo boo chicken that he is, went right to sleep! I love this little guy!!!

(In between crazy-ness.)

blessed.

(In LOVE with this little face!!!)

It's a little after midnight and I can't sleep. Actually, my sleep schedule has been way off lately so it's been normal for me to stay up late. I want to wake up Blake right now. I want to hold him and hug him and cuddle him! It's weird, he is right on the other side of the wall but I totally miss him right now.

I have been thinking about how blessed I am, how I have the most incredible little boy! I can't believe that God gave me him, that this was his plan for me. Even though I was resentful through some of the hardships in my life, like the loss of my father and my infertility struggle, God still gave me the most beautiful, incredible little boy! I am so grateful that he did... I know I wanted a girl and I know I thought Blake was a girl, (and I can even admit that I cried when I found out B was a boy...) but I am beyond thankful that he is a boy. I feel like he was a boy for a reason, that even though I wanted a girl so so so bad, I was given Blake because I needed to have his love- I needed to experience the love that only a son can give his mommy. My heart is full and it is because of him!

I have no idea what the future holds. All I know is in this moment I truly am blessed with the best gift anyone could possibly give me. I hope Blake will always know how much he means to me and I hope Blake knows how much I love him and how I completely fall in love with that little chicken more and more every day.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world... No, I AM the luckiest girl in the world.

(my babies.)

The Older B Gets...

The harder it is for me to find time to write this blog!!!

(Snacking on a mandarin orange in Target...)

Blake is going to be 10 months old tomorrow! I can't believe it. I can not believe how old he is getting. It's all moving too fast for me and while I am excited to see what tomorrow brings and what milestones we are going to celebrate, a little part of me longs for the past. A little part of me wishes he would stay this small forever. It's funny how you hear parents say "I can't wait until my baby can crawl!" or "I can't wait until my baby can hold their own bottle!" and my favorite- "I can't wait until my baby sleeps through the night!" And while those are all exciting milestones they also represent a little independence, it's just another step on the journey of them not 'needing' you anymore... That makes my heart hurt. I love my little boo boo chicken! I want him to stay small forever and ever, and two nights ago we had to lower his crib mattress!

On that note, Blake is well on his way to full-fledged independence! (Okay, maybe 'full-fledged' independence really won't happen until teenage years or beyond...) The last few weeks have just been a monumental developmental spurt. He cries when I walk out of the room, he can crawl (it's more of a worm scoot, but it's the way he crawls!), he can go from a crawling to a sitting position all by himself, he can get from a crawling hands and knees position to a hands and feet position, and he can climb!!! I was lying on my side on the floor right next to him one night, he wormed his way over to me, pulled himself up the front of me, and then stood up! We knew it was time to lower his crib mattress to avoid any climbing accidents!

(My little fishy...)

One of my favorite things, maybe not one of daddy's favorites, happened the same night as the climbing incident. It was getting late, almost B's bedtime and he was getting a little grumpy. I had to go to the bathroom before I started bedtime procedures so I handed him to his daddy and went to the bathroom. He stared at me and watched me until I was out of his sight, and then I heard the saddest cry. He cried while I quickly went to the bathroom and washed my hands. He cried even when he saw me again, he outstretched his arms towards me when I came closer to him... Awwwwww.... He just wanted his mommy!!! He was happy to be in my arms again and it was such a great feeling to know that I provide him with that happiness and comfort.

(In his police car pool floatie... We were trying to give daddy a little motivation to put our pool up!)

We had another crying night about two weeks prior to this. He was 'backed-up'. He had been for about two days. So, one night we did our regular bedtime thing and he fell asleep in my arms. I moved him to his crib and he woke up and cried. This was a little unusual since he is pretty good about going to sleep on his own even if he is awake. Not a stranger to letting him cry it out for a few, I let him cry while I unloaded the dishwasher, sure he would only cry for a few minutes. But he didn't stop. So I went back in and picked him up and brought him out to the rocker in the family room. Once again he fell asleep and I put him back in his crib. The above-said cycle happened again. We went through this about three or four times that night. The very last time, while he was crying, I got ready for bed. I went into his room grabbed my very upset little man and brought him out to the rocker. There I gave him a VERY small bottle of apple-prune juice, (I told myself I would NEVER give B a bottle with juice in it... So much for that!) and he fell asleep in my arms. We cuddled on the rocker until two in the morning. I loved that. I contemplated sleeping there all night with him, but figured neither one of us would really get that great of a night's sleep and we both needed it! But I loved that. I wish for more nights like that minus the poop-prune juice part, but I also know that the crib is the best place for him.

I LOVE when he needs me. I love it more and more everyday. I feel like the older he gets he wants to be 'more independent' while I want to hold him and cuddle him like a baby more and more. What a vicious cycle I tell you! But I guess that is what getting older is!!!

(If you look close enough you can see his new tooth popping through... It's his bottom left.)

So, on to the stats: We brought B to the doctor about a week ago and he was 21 pounds, 9.8 ounces (which was about 60th percentile weight), and a tad over 30" long (the 90th percentile!!!). He also has three new teeth coming in right now! The left bottom and two uppers... Not the two front teeth but the ones next to those! Like the first time around, no crying or fussing!

Aside from the aforementioned skills, he still loves duck & goose and his blanket, he still sleeps through the night, he still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and still has a odd obsession for all things electronic (TV, computer, cell phone...), he will actually watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on You Tube and know to flip the phone around if I hand it to him upside down! Another odd thing- he still loves his baby swing, although the bigger he gets the less it really swings. He LOVES to go swimming and loves the water, he likes to read books, he loves to terrorize his doggies and they reluctantly let him. He is starting to eat 'people' food. He loves fruit and dried cereal. I have given him fruit snacks, ritz crackers, and smoothie popsicles, guess what- he loves all of it! I am pretty sure there isn't anything he doesn't like, maybe with the exception of peas and meats! He just learned how to 'dance' and will happily dance when there is music. He is also quite the chatterbox... He says 'ma ma ma ma' and 'da' along with some other baby gibberish things that I haven't translated yet!

(Coming up on 10 months old and still using the baby swing! At least we are getting our money's worth out of that purchase!!!)

I am going to start making his first birthday invites in two weeks... Just more proof that he is getting old!

(He loves to snack!)

A Little Realization...

(Blake asleep in my arms last night...)

Let me start off by saying tonight I am a tad bit emotional... I think that every mom has that moment (or moments), an epiphany if you will, where they realize that their baby is growing up. I had a mini-moment right around when Blake was three months old, when I was packing away his newborn clothes. Tonight I had another one.... It was a pretty big moment.

Tonight it hit me as I was rocking my sweet baby to sleep that I will never get this day back. He is growing so fast, eventually he won't even need me to rock him to sleep. Someday he will not need me to hold his last bottle of the day when he is too tired to do it himself. Someday he will be too big to fall asleep in my arms and someday he won't want to anymore. It makes me so incredibly sad because these last fifteen minutes of the day are my absolute favorite with him. Don't get me wrong, we have tons of fun and many moments throughout the rest of the day, but for me the last fifteen minutes are the best, they are my little slice of heaven.

It's the time of day where no matter how difficult the rest of the day had been, it all just melts away. Watching Blake fall asleep in my arms, so peaceful, so comfortable, so safe, and so loved makes me fall in love with him over and over again. To know that he feels all those things and to know that I provided it is one of the best feelings someone can ever feel. It can be a little bittersweet as well.

Tonight, I did not want to move Blake to his crib. I wanted to hold him in that rocker and sleep with him in my arms all night long. It's because I know these days are numbered. It's because I know that tomorrow he is going to be another day bigger, another day older, another day more independent. I am reminded of this every night when I move him to his crib. He just takes more and more room in there. He is no longer a swaddled-up newborn, he is turning into a sprawled-out toddler.

I wish I could just freeze these moments in time, especially tonight. These moments are truly the most precious gifts, my own little slice of heaven.

It's been a while...

(Baby B LOVES the beach!!!)

Gosh, it's been a while since I have wrote a blog. What a bad mommy I have been!!! Well, Blake is 8 1/2 months old now. He is growing so fast, he can roll over by himself, though rolling back over has proved to be more difficult! He is a total little chatterbox & singer. He sits up by himself and he can even stand on his own propped up against the couch or something like that. He plays peek-a-boo, he will pull the blanket over his face then push it off waiting for me to give him a 'BOO!' and he rewards me with the cutest, most heartwarming giggle! He is becoming quite a little man, he will let you know when he is mad or if he wants something. He gets mad if he is left alone in a room and he always wants to be on the move, though not being fully mobile puts a damper on that! He is a mover, though mobility is only through the help of his walker, there is NO sign of crawling anywhere. I have tried to get him to do it, but he will get super mad and just bury his face in the carpet and scream. Speaking of screaming... He realizes how loud his voice is now and just will scream. Not because he is mad, but because screaming is fun. Of course he does it at the most inopportune times. He is officially too big for his swing, it still sits in our living room. It's the last 'newborn' thing left... I have to put it away but I don't want to... It will probably sit there for a little bit longer!

(Daddy & Blake.)

(Mommy & Blake.)

Last week, we took Blake on his first long distance vacation. We took him to visit his Uncle Dave in San Luis Obispo. He didn't make a peep during the 5 hour drive and he was such a good baby during the rest of the vacation. He slept through the night in his pack and play. I was super happy about this because when we took B on a overnight trip to Reno to visit his cousins he would not sleep in it. Noah ended up sleeping in a recliner in the family room with Blake on that visit... Good thing it is a comfy recliner!!!

(Uncle Dave, Mommy, & the little chicken.)

Anyhow, we took Blake to downtown SLO and to Avila Beach. It was B's first trip to the beach and he thought the sand was the greatest thing. He would take a handful of it in his hand, but it would pour out in between his fingers so when he would open his hand to see it there wouldn't be anymore sand. It was so cute! It was so nice to spend time with Uncle Dave since we don't really get to see him too often and B doesn't get to play with him too much. Blake, Uncle Dave, & Kristina had 4 days of playing & feeding... No diaper changes though! It was such a great trip, the only thing missing were the doggies!

Next week we are taking a trip to Pajaro Dunes. Blake had so much fun at the beach so I am super excited to take him to the beach again!!!

(This sand stuff is the best!!!)

On a Roll...

Blake is now a lot more mobile thanks to his Cousin Keaton. Keaton let us borrow his baby walker and now B is ALL OVER THE PLACE. He crazy-loves this thing!!! I officially had to start the baby proofing around the house because he got into a basket full of gaming supplies (batteries, wires, ect.) in the entertainment center. He also found where his toys are kept in the family room and would try to pull the cubby off the shelf! He loves chasing the dogs around the house and 'running over' Timber when he's lying on the floor. The walker is genius for us because our whole house is tile so he can cruise where ever he wants. I guess it's only more and more baby proofing from here!

(First, he found his toy cubby...)

(Then he pulled it out...)

(Then he made his way over to the couch...)

(Then he spotted Timber and tried to get him... Timber's head is not missing, he's just itching his foot!)

Who's Kid Is This???

(Baby B in his brand new jogging stroller...)

I can't believe it's been 20 days since I have last posted a blog... I feel like I am being such a bad mom since this is essentially Blake's baby book! Anyhow, obviously a few things have happened since my last post. First, Blake is officially rolling on his own... That means he rolls over without me dangling a toy in his face or making annoying noises or doing an embarrassing dance. He makes a new face, the 'scrunchy' face, and he claps all the time. He thinks clapping is so much fun!

(How cute is he?!?!)

Second, it was Easter. He had a bunch of pictures taken at Picture People and I had purchased a bundle of one pose off of Living Social. Unfortunately, the down side to having a child who hams it up in front of the camera is that he doesn't take one single bad picture. Instead of the visit only costing the $18 I had previously paid, it ended up being over $100 dollars. He smiled in EVERY single picture, and they were all so cute! Then we went over to see the Easter Bunny. B was so in love with the gigantic pink bunny. He would stare at it (Is it a boy or a girl???), then pull on it's fur and bow tie, then he gave the camera a brief smile before awing over it again. For Easter Sunday we spent it at both grandparents house, he got lots of loot, and his cousin, Annabelle, even found him some eggs during the Easter egg hunt. It was such a fun day!

(Little Boo Boo Chicken and the Easter Bunny.)

Lastly, baby B had his last physical therapy appointment. He had progressed so well that he has officially graduated from PT. We also had a quick trip to his pedi to check on a few things. Blake weighs a whopping 20 pounds! What a cute little beefcake! He also had to have a flu shot booster, the injection nurse came in and gave him his shot and he did not cry. He didn't even make a peep! Who's kid is this??? I totally cry when the doctor tells me I have to get a shot, and it doesn't phase Blake one bit!!!! He may have my eyes, nose, & sleeping habits but other than that this tough kid is all daddy! =)

(Duck & Goose Loving.)